Djawa Baroe, 1943–1945

The magazine and its audiences

Djawa Baroe (1943–1945): When Japanese War Propaganda Sounds So Local

How did the Japanese Empire attempt to sway Indonesian public opinion during the Second World War?

Almost a year after the arrival of the Japanese military in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) on 8 March 1942, Djawa Baroe (modern spelling: Jawa Baru; literal translation: New Java) was first published on 1 January 1943. It was a bilingual, Japanese state-sponsored propaganda magazine, which was published every fortnight and aimed at the Indonesian public. After 63 editions, the last issue was published on 1 August 1945, roughly two weeks before the defeat and surrender of the Japanese Empire in the Second World War.

In achieving its goal as the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, the Japanese Empire was no stranger to utilising wartime propaganda not only in its home country, but also in the occupied territories. In 1937, the new nationalist discourse was established to promote the Japanese nationalist ideology and encourage its people to take part in the war effort, blurring the lines between the fights happening at the battlefront and the domestic lives led on the home front (Yamashita, Kushner). The discourse being implemented formed a strategy through depicting propaganda aesthetics, such as a blend of patriotic imagery and domestic life illustrated in war songs, textbooks, and other visual media, aimed at invoking emotional engagement to mobilise war efforts. As an extension of this nationalist narrative, the Japanese Empire implemented a similar attitude in each of its occupied territories; however, with a hybridity flavour designated to each occupied territory. Thus, Djawa Baroe was conceived as the ‘communicative bridge’ for Indonesians to support the Japanese Empire under the narrative of Asian brotherhood against what they called the Western imperialists during the Occupation (1942–1945). However, as the Allies kept inching on the Japanese military and local insurrections started to spread like wildfire, the militaristic narrative in Djawa Baroe grew increasingly apparent. This project examines the trend progression represented in the aesthetics of Djawa Baroe in depicting Japanese Empire propaganda from 1943 to 1945.

Images of brotherhood

The cover of the first issue of Djawa Baroe, published on 1 January 1943, depicts a Japanese child and Indonesian children happily playing together.

Gendered representation

The cover of Djawa Baroe, published on 1 January 1944, depicts an Indonesian woman dressing up in kimono while smiling at a Japanese woman.

On the very first issue, published on 1 January 1943, Djawa Baroe dedicated an entire page to declaring its mission as an attempt to appease the Indonesian audience.

The very first issue of Djawa Baroe displays the manifesto that declares the magazine would be a meeting bridge for Japan and Indonesia and would only publish the “truth” in order to support Japan (Nippon) during the war.

The magazine itself was aimed at an educated Indonesian audience, while at the same time, it promoted Japanese literacy through language crash-course rubrics, and other content such as war songs and comic strips.

Language and everyday life

The language section on the issue published in 1943.

The music section on the magazine, published in 1944, contains the message of the importance of Work (Bekerdja) in support of not only domestic life but also for the greater war purposes.

Comics and local culture

The comic strips, published in 1944, adopts the local flavour by portraying the life at the farm and life as a mother. Domestic advertisement is also displayed at the bottom of the page.

The irony of the women’s representations

Djawa Baroe often depicts women and girls as both equal soldiers in the field and in more domestic portraits. This was very much in contrast to the reality of kidnapping and sexual slavery, committed by the Japanese military.

The shifting war narrative

The cover of Djawa Baroe, published on 15 November 1944 portrays female soldiers wearing traditional Javanese kebaya.

On the same issue, Djawa Baroe portrays Indonesian female students in the middle of a lecture.

Mobilising wartime support

The women’s parade (Parade Kaoem Wanita) on Djawa Baroe, published on 1 January 1944, portraying various women and girls who appear willingly in support of the Japanese Empire.

When soft power could no longer contain the urgency

The message in the advertisement becomes more obvious: one must take care of their health so they can fight for the Japanese Empire (published on 15 January 1945)

In the earlier issues, Djawa Baroe also depicted Indonesian influential figures such as Sukarno and Moh. Hatta, who later became the first President and Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia, in a positive light as young anti-Western-imperialist politicians who worked in tandem with the Japanese Empire. However, as the Japanese military became